A light emitting diode (LED) is a device including a material that emits light through the application of electrical energy thereto, in which energy generated by electron hole recombination in semiconductor junction parts is converted into light to be emitted therefrom. LEDs are commonly employed as light sources in general illumination devices, display devices, and the like, and the development of LEDs has thus been accelerated.
In particular, recently, the development and employment of gallium nitride-based LEDs has increased, and mobile device keypads, signal lamps of vehicles, camera flashes, and the like, using such a gallium nitride-based LED, have been commercialized. In line with this, the development of general illumination devices using LEDs has accelerated. Products in which LEDs are utilized, such as a backlight unit of a large TV, a vehicle headlamp, a general illumination device, and the like, are gradually moving toward large-sized products having high outputs and high efficiency. Thus, the LEDs used in such products need to satisfy a high level requirement of the characteristics of the LEDs. However, LEDs have a problem in which a semiconductor layer thereof is damaged during a manufacturing process. Thus, a need exists for a method for manufacturing a semiconductor light emitting device capable of reducing damage to a semiconductor layer.